The Richmond-Adelaide bike lanes have officially become permanent

Toronto City Council has voted to make the Richmond-Adelaide Cycle Track pilot permanent.

The decision was unanimous and will include the cycle tracks on Peter and Simcoe Streets.

With a unanimous vote, City Council has voted to (finally) make the Richmond & Adelaide bike lane permanent. In 2019, after the tremendous results of Richmond & Adelaide and Bloor St, it’s time to stop piloting bike lanes and start building permanent ones. pic.twitter.com/t2KP5ZjZOQ

— Joe Cressy (@joe_cressy) January 30, 2019

The cycle tracks were installed between 2014 and 2016, and have been used heavily ever since. As of fall 2018, there was an average of 6,160 weekday cyclists, in good weather, travelling on Richmond Street and Adelaide Street, making them the most-travelled cycle tracks in Toronto.

See also

• City council votes in favour to make Bloor bike lanes permanent
• U of T study finds more than half of drivers don't look for cyclists when turning right
• What you need to know about riding your bike in Toronto

During the pilot, the rate of cyclist collisions decreased by 73% and serious motor vehicle collisions decreased by 18%.

Mayor John Tory shared a tweet commenting on the importance of the Richmond-Adelaide cycle tracks as a means of safe travelling throughout Toronto.

We are investing in safe, separated on-street bike lanes on major downtown roadways. The Richmond-Adelaide cycle tracks are an important investment in cycling infrastructure that provides another option for people to move about our city quickly and safely. https://t.co/YrCOg7uL0b

— John Tory (@JohnTory) January 30, 2019

The city also has improvements planned for these routes to further improve cyclist and pedestrian safety and vehicle traffic flow. These changes include:

• Moving the existing cycle track on Adelaide Street from the south side to the north side of the street
• Installing protected eastbound left turns and/or right-turn bike boxes at several signalized intersections on Adelaide Street, between Bathurst and Parliament Streets
• Providing a greater degree of separation between cyclists and vehicles through the placement of temporary concrete barriers within the buffer zone
• Improving bus stops to increase safety for cyclists and TTC operators, and to better accommodate TTC customers
• Installing pavement marking modifications and making corridor traffic signal timing modifications, where necessary.